Exploring Students Use of Facebook in Formal Learning Contexts

Exploring Students Use of Facebook in Formal Learning Contexts Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics Vol. 2 No. 2, 2017 eISSN: 2503-4197, pISSN: 2527-5070 www. indonesian-efl-journal.org Exploring Students Use of Facebook in Formal Learning Contexts Nagaletchimee Annamalai School of Distance Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia e-mail: Abstract: This qualitative study aims to explore the use of Facebook environment in narrative writing. Data were collected from students’ narrative writing and focus group interview. The essays were analysed based on Spandel Assessment Scale (2005).The findings revealed that eventhough students improved their narrative writing, there was lack of in-depth discussion to construct knowledge. It further proposed that teacher needs to facilitate and guide students as time, space and resources are available online. The students indicated that Facebook was beneficial as it was a convenient and engaging writing platform. Students also pointed the availability of web-resources to enhance their writing.There were more positive experiences and fewer negative experiences. Limitations of the study were also discussed along with suggestions for future research. Keywords: social networking sites, Facebook, social interactions, collaboration, writing skill Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 2(2), 2017 91 Exploring Students Use of Facebook in Formal Learning Contexts 1. INTRODUCTION Technological revolution in the past two decades has created profound implications for the use of technologies in schools (Sweeny, 2010). According to Mehlinger and Powers (2002), Information and Communication Technology (ICT) “will have, is having, has had, can have an impact on how we teach and learn” (p. 11). Schools are internationally faced with the demands to integrate ICT in educational policies, curriculum and classroom practices. In this sense, ICT has caused tremendous challenges for educators to depart from the traditional teaching approaches to embrace new approaches to add value and fulfil the demand of the new generation (Lin et al., 2013). A variety of tools have been integrated in schools and higher education and can be classified according to its temporal nature, either synchronous or asynchronous. These tools can also be classified as either freely available (open source materials) and for commercial purposes. Some of the freely available tools are blogs, wikis, discussion boards, e-mails and Facebook and commercially online tools are Babylon, Master Writer, eXpert Communicator and StyleWriter Professional (BrotherSoft, 2012). In the face of costly commercially available writing tools, especially when it is a problem for schools, a welcoming invitation would be innovative use of these freely available open source tools. An obvious social networking site that is freely available and can be manipulated for education context is Facebook. Research have supported the positive impact of Facebook in educational context (McCarthy, 2015; Shih, 2011; Bosch, 2009). It has allowed the shift from learner-centred to teacher-centred education (Lee at al.2009) and increased the efficiency of flexible accessibility, convenience and cost (Cantoni, Cellario & Porta, 2004). More advanced application of the Facebook environment would be the availability of recent educational resources and digital materials (Sahin & Ukuyol, 2016). Facebook contains many features that can be used in teaching and learning activities. For example, Like, Chatroom, Comments, Notifications, Messages, News Feed, Events, Groups, Apps, Friends and etc. To use Facebook and to achieve positive learning outcomes, one need not necessarily utilized all the features. Only certain features need to be used to accomplish the task planned. The current study serves to extend research related to Facebook by examining the quality of the students writing after they were engaged in the social interactions in their collaborative learning in the Facebook environment. In this study, the researcher intends to use Groups, Comments and Walls. To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, no attention has been paid to the narrative writing skill and the experiences of the ESL learners in the Facebook environment in the Malaysian secondary school context.Teaching of writing in the Malaysian classroom is limited due to time and space (Darus & Ching 2009). It is suggested that online writing environment such as Facebook allows flexibility and students will be able to work on their own pace. Therefore, Facebook environment is used to encourage narrative writing among students. Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 2(2), 2017 92 Exploring Students Use of Facebook in Formal Learning Contexts The research question that guided these studies were: 1.1 Research Question 1. Do the teaching and learning activities in the Facebook environment improve students’ narrative writing? 2. What are the reasons that may explain the changes or lack thereof? 2. LITERATURE REVIEW Facebook has obviously becoming ubiquitous in formal as well as in non-formal learning. Since Facebook was not typically designed for educational context, the appropriate approach and pedagogical practices play a crucial role in influencing the potential of the Facebook environment in teaching and learning activities (Hamid et al., 2014). Studies have shown that when Facebook is infused with appropriate pedagogical repertoire, positive learning outcomes can be achieved. O’Bannon (2013) found that Facebook was considered by the pre-service teachers as a source of learning that was convenient, enhances learning and provides a good means of communication. Razak & Saeed (2014) investigated revision strategies among EFL(English as a foreign language) learners in Facebook. The study found that Community of Practice (CoP) facilitated students provided an environment for greater learning, increased willingness to interact and eventually developed a sense of independence among them learners to improve their writing. Buga et al. (2014) discovered that when Facebook was used as a platform for home assignments with a group of French students and another group with English students, students who were never keen to do their homework before, started responding and showed interest to complete their assignments. They concluded that Facebook used as an educational platform in a foreign language class has encouraged genuine communication. Pimmer et al.(2015) also drew many positive outcomes from the medical students as well as the faculty when used Facebook to discuss medical and clinical topics.They also found that quizzes, case presentations and deliberate e-learning practices which are often found in formal educational settings were applicable in the Facebook environment. Joel (2015) observed the Botswana students’ interest in the use of Facebook for the oral presentation. The study reported that 80% of the students opted for Facebook and 20% chose to do their o (...truncated)